Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank the honourable member for Gippsland for providing members with the opportunity to talk about surf lifesaving clubs. It is not the first time I have talked about them in this place and I know it will not be the last, because there is always so much that they are doing in the community and particularly in my local area in the seat of Page. I can attend functions with them, including the far north coast branch and its Surf Life Saving Awards of Excellence. There are just so many other opportunities to extol the wonderful work that they do.

I wholeheartedly support the thrust of the honourable member for Gippsland's private member's motion, which notes that there are over 150,000 members. I noted on their website that there are up to around 156,000 members and 310 affiliated surf lifesaving clubs. The motion states that surf lifesaving is the largest volunteer movement of its kind in Australia. In fact, it is unique. I do not see it replicated around the world. Of course, there are volunteer movements in many countries and neighbouring countries but this one is rather a unique volunteer movement to Australia. I would also like to read into the record another couple of points in the motion. Point (2) states:

(2) recognises the outstanding contribution made to health and safety of beach goers by volunteer and professional surf lifesavers …

It goes on:

(3) highlights that the economic value to the Australian economy of surf lifesaving's coastal drowning and injury prevention efforts in 2009 10 was independently assessed to be $3.6 billion …

That is a huge investment of volunteer time from the Australian community and from surf lifesaving into the drowning and injury prevention efforts. Many volunteers in Australia put in a big investment into our community, making our community better and safer. It is also an investment of an economic kind.

Point (4) states:

(4) supports the important role played by surf lifesaving clubs in developing young people's health, fitness and leadership skills through an extensive junior program …

What a wonderful program that is. We have all seen the young kids at the beach, out in their colours of surf lifesaving: red and yellow. When you are at the beach it is just wonderful to see them and know that that is a tradition that we have in Australia that will be continued by some really dedicated people.

The honourable member goes on in points (5)(a) and (5)(b) and refers to a coalition commitment. I shall, understandably, refer to commitments and support that has already been given by the government. I want to, firstly, put on record my appreciation to all those Australians who put on the uniform and cap and who go out on weekends and holiday times to help make us safer at the beach. I say this to all involved in surf lifesaving—not just the ones who do put on the uniform and the cap but everybody who is associated with surf lifesaving, including members of the community and all the people, particularly the many parents, carers, grandparents and everybody else who gets involved to make this movement work.

I would like to note here the local clubs in my seat of Page and in my area of the far north coast. The far north coast takes in about 10 clubs but there are five directly in my seat with some spillover into the seat of Richmond. I heard the honourable member for Richmond talking earlier to this motion.

The five surf lifesaving clubs in my electorate are: Yamba; Lennox Head-Alstonville—Lennox Head is actually in the seat of Richmond and Alstonville in the seat of Page, so it is a combined one— Evans Head-Casino; Minnie Water-Wooli, which goes also into the seat of Cowper, but there is some spillover into my seat of Page; Ballina Lighthouse and Lismore, which is based in Ballina. There are two things that I want to say about the Ballina Lighthouse and Lismore Surf Life Saving Club. Just recently, the Ballina Lighthouse and Lismore Surf Life Saving Club won New South Wales Club of the Year. They were absolutely thrilled and very excited, as I was. The club won the title at the annual Surf Life Saving New South Wales Awards in Sydney.

As you can imagine, this received extensive media coverage in coverage locally and also on our local ABC. I will just read a little bit from here; it was prepared by Justine Frasier and Samantha Turnbull. Chris Beavis is the club president and he was talking and said that he was thrilled with the award, particularly as they had been operating out of shipping containers while waiting for the new headquarters to be built. I have been in the shipping containers, so I know the conditions they are working in, but it is not because they do not have something fabulous happening—they do, and I will talk to that—it is while all the planning and the development work is going on so they could get to build the new facilities. Chris Beavis went on to say, 'It was not about the facilities around you; it was about how you use the facilities.' Indeed, surf lifesavers can work anywhere and have done for a long time, but it is incumbent upon all of us at all levels of government—local, state and federal—to try and make the conditions they work under just that bit better. Chris Beavis went on to say, 'My sense is we do that type of stuff very well,' and indeed they do do it very well.

The other exciting thing that I want to talk about that is happening is with the Ballina Lighthouse and Lismore Surf Life Saving club. Just recently—I think it was 4 September—I went with the now retired Mayor of Ballina Shire, Phil Silver, and Chris Beavis, the club president, and we turned a sod of sand where they are going to build the new surf lifesaving club. I was able to secure $2.3 million towards the $5.8 million project. I secured that some time back. It has taken a while to work out the whole development processes, and they have done that extremely well. Not too many clubs will be situated right on the beach, but they are building where the old club was in a shipping container. I was really pleased to be able to deliver on that, and it came through the fund of the Department of Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government, initially under the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure and now the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government.

It was great to be there to turn that sod, because the project is constructing a new two-storey surf lifesaving clubhouse and car park. The clubhouse will have uninterrupted views of the beach and feature a control room, function rooms, cafe, first aid room and gym. It will replace the old shed and shipping container that has been serving as the club's facilities. The cafe that will operate on the ground floor will be for locals, and that will go back into maintaining the building. That is one of the things Ballina Shire Council are very good at: working with surf lifesaving, making sure that what they do has sustainability built into it, because that is always a key factor when we are building new buildings and building infrastructure. They are particularly good at that. The Ballina Lighthouse and Lismore Surf Life Saving Club is putting in $300,000, and the Ballina Shire Council provided $3.2 million. It will support local jobs during construction. Bennets, a local firm, got the contract, which was great to see, and it will be wonderful for members and the volunteers to continue the work that they do there.

I would like to, in the few seconds I have got left, mention the $34.32 million that has been allocated by the government to water and safety initiatives. That will go to a whole range of activities right across Australia, including saving lives in the water program. Thank you.

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